The Reason We Don't Go Camping
by AYoungLazyWriter
Summary: In the span of a day, a young couple's camping trip is turned upside down as they are thrust into a world where not only are dragons and poison spitting spiders real, but killing is commonplace. They find themselves in the middle of a civil war and at the heart of a prophecy. The trick is finding out which one of them is supposed to be the main character.
1. Chapter 1

**So here's something I've been working on in my spare time. I've taken a small break from Supernatural since Netflix hasn't updated the show. This was originally a NaNoWriMo story, but I didn't have the time to write it so I'm just adding to it in my spare time. My boyfriend has been beta reading this for me so a huge thanks to him.**

 **I apologize for my readers who were expecting a Supernatural update, but I need a change in pace right now, and Skyrim currently provides it.**

 **I am also on the look out for some good mod recommendations, though they will not appear in this story.**

 **I look forward to your thoughts, critiques and opinions on this story as they can be very helpful.**

 **Hope y'all enjoy!**

If Josh and Jess could pin point the day their lives went to hell, they'd agree it started with their camping trip. The months of planning, arguing over locations, researching and buying enough stuff to help them survive for the week all started because Jess wanted to do something fun. This meant disaster for Josh since their definitions of fun varied. Their choice of camping spot was finally decided by their friend who had a cabin in the woods with some hiking trails nearby. With the nearest town an hour's drive away, they would be smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

"You know it's not too late to go back," Josh said as they began to pull into the parking lot.

"Come on," Jess said as she checked her bag for the hundredth time, "It'll be fun, you'll see."

Josh sighed, the battle lost. He slung his backpack over his shoulders and followed his girlfriend to the cabin. From the outside, the cabin was nothing special. Their friend assured them it had plumbing though Josh bemoaned the lack of electricity. His DS had run out of battery halfway through the trip, but it had been his turn to drive by then. Now that he didn't have a distraction, he was starting to wonder if he should have convinced Jess to go on a road trip instead. Ah well, too late now.

Their home for the next week was a small hunting cabin. There was a small campfire outside, and a trail leading them towards the lake. Walking inside, one would find the living room to their right and the kitchen to their left. The living room had a fireplace, though since it was the middle of summer Josh doubted they'd have a use for it. Two couches and an arm chair were placed around the fireplace in a horse shoe fashion. In the middle of this arrangement, there was a wooden table with assorted board games and books. The living room opened up to the kitchen which held a gas stove, and a shelf full of assorted canned goods. Jess had brought some dried meat she intended to cook for dinner, something he looked forward to. His girlfriend had the uncanny ability to create a full course meal using no more than five ingredients. They had also brought some non-perishables, along with food they expected to eat quickly.

"You want to share or have your own bed?" Jess called from the living room.

"Would you be opposed to sharing?" Josh asked.

Jess smiled, "I would not."

Once they finished unpacking the car and sorting everything into its proper place, it was well past sunset. Jess prepared some food, opting to fry the dried meats with some canned beans and homemade corn tortillas.

"We should go on a small hike tomorrow," she said. "There's supposed to be some really nice trails around here."

"Sure," Josh said, "If you don't mind being out in the heat with bugs and stuff."

Jess rolled her eyes and shook her head. They had a light supper of canned soup from the pantry before getting ready for bed. The extent of their exhaustion became apparent as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

…

The next morning, Jess woke to much too bright sunlight and much too loud song birds. Her boyfriend was the deeper sleeper and thus didn't seem to notice when she unwrapped herself from his arms. He only woke up when the smell of breakfast filled the cabin, and followed the smell to its source: the kitchen. Jess had cooked some of the meats they had brought along with some canned beans and made some tortillas with the flour and _masa_ she'd brought.

"You know," she said as Josh wolfed down the food, "One would think you only love me for my food."

"Darn, my secret revealed."

She hit his shoulder lightly with a laugh, "Bastard."

Josh smiled smugly and blew her a kiss.

"You ready for a small hike?" she asked.

"A _small_ hike," he emphasized, "Just to explore what's around here."

"Deal."

They packed some food for lunch, and packed their backpacks in preparation for their hike. They would have been ready quicker had the couple not been kissing every five seconds, but they were ready for a hike.

They hiked in the direction of the lake, hoping to have a small picnic there. Some small fishing boats were already out in the lake, along with some kayaks from the local campsite. There were small houses here and there, though none of them were visible from the lake due to the trees. Their inhabitants only left the homes to fish or hunt, though with the summer camp it became difficult to do so. The couple sat on the picnic blanket as they watched the brightly coloured kayaks paddle around and around on the lake.

"Ready for your last year of college?" Jess asked.

Josh gave her a look, "We're barely a month into summer and you're already thinking about college?"

She shrugged, and waited for his answer.

"I guess," he shrugged, "I mean this time next year we'll be graduated and I'm trying not to focus on that."

"Understandable."

They fell into comfortable silence, shaded under a large oak tree as they cuddled each other. It had taken months to convince Jess's parents to let her go. The fact that she was twenty-one didn't seem to dissuade them, but continuous nagging finally convinced them. And it was worth it to be away from the hustle and bustle of city, where they could pretend that they didn't have college or their own busy schedules to get back to.

"I can't wait for Ireland," Jess said, "It's gonna be fun."

"It's supposed to be," Josh agreed. "You better call me, don't matter when."

"You'll be asleep when I do."

"Never been a problem before."

"Touché."

A game of Clue distracted them until they ran out of food and needed a new game. Their game of monopoly sat innocently in the picnic basket, but they ignored it. Instead they decided on their next course of action. With the evening setting in, mosquitos were beginning to become obnoxious so the couple decided to head back. Josh wanted to stop by the town and buy some more supplies and Jess wanted to get more appetizing canned foods.

They hiked back to the mountain, taking the same path as before, but it only took them a couple of minutes to realize something was very wrong. The path they were following did not lead them back to the cabin, nor did it lead them to anywhere familiar.

"This _is_ the path we took, right?" Jess asked tightening her grip on her boyfriend's hand.

"Let's head back to the lake," Josh said, "We can ask someone for help there."

They turned to head back only to find that the path had been replaced by trees and shrubs. The lake was nowhere to be seen, not even the summer camp kids could be heard. Only the chirping of birds and insects could be heard.

"Shit."

"Crap."

They were lost. They were lost in a forest with no weapons and very little food. Help would not come for two weeks at most, and by then they'd probably be dead. The young couple tried to calm themselves and each other though they failed. And who could blame them? They were basically dead. Shelter was the first they agreed on, somewhere they could spend the night before attempting to signal for help. They found a small trail and followed it, in hopes of finding some form of civilization. If they were lucky they might come across some people that could point them in the right direction.

As luck would have it, they came across a group of roleplayers who seemed to have just settled for rest, which was strange for multiple reasons. The first reason, the roleplayers were wearing armour, actual metal armour along with chainmail, helmets and swords. This last one became apparent when said swords were pointed at them. It looked like they'd stumbled across a group of very serious roleplayers. It could have been worse.

"Who are you?" one of the actors asked.

"We got lost," Jess said, "We were staying in a cabin by the lake. We were kinda hoping someone would give us a ride back."

"There isn't a lake for miles," the actor replied suspiciously. "Who are you really?"

"Look," Jess said raising her hands in surrender, "we just want to go back to enjoying our two weeks."

"I think they are being sincere, Erik" one of the actors said, "let us at least help them find their way."

"Thank you," Josh breathed in relief.

"Whereabouts is your cabin?" the actor asked.

"It's down by Adam's Lake," Jess said.

"Adam's Lake?" the actor repeated in confusion.

"We have never heard of Adam's lake," another actor said.

By this time, Josh had looked around. He recognized the crest on the soldier's chest plates and shields. The blue image of the bear became all too familiar and rang far too many bells.

"Uh….babe…can I talk to you for a sec?" Josh said pulling her aside. "I think they're legit soldiers."

"What?" Jess asked. "You sure?"

Josh nodded, "Look at the crest. It's the Stormcloak crest, and those weapons very sharp and very real."

" _Stormcloaks?_ " Jess repeated. "You can't be serious."

"As a heart attack."

Jess looked at the soldiers. The armour did seem real, and the weapons were sharp. She saw one of the soldiers sit to sharpen his sword with a rock. Some carried wooden bows, with a quiver of arrows on their back. They were real, they didn't break out of character. No one had anything that had been invented in the past hundred years. The soldiers were Stormcloaks, and she had no doubt the large tent with the bear crest on its side belonged to Ulfric Stormcloak, leader of the Stormcloaks, a rebel group who sought independence from the Imperials, led by General Tulius.

"Crap."

"Yep."

They weren't in Texas or anywhere near planet earth for that matter. They were in Skyrim, the location of the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda. It would explain the familiar armour and the soldiers. But why in the world would they end up in Skyrim of all places? How did they end up in Skyrim of all places?

"We need to figure out where in the timeline we are," Josh said, "Because if we're in the beginning, then we are about to be so screwed."

According to the game, the main character wakes up on a cart, their hands bound, along other Stormcloaks as prisoners. The reason given was the Stormcloaks were ambushed by Imperial soldiers when the Stormcloaks approached the border.

"So long as they point us in the direction of a town," Jess said, "We can avoid the fighting if we can, but crap. How- _how_ did we end up _here_ of all places? We were in the woods, and then we just happen to come across a Stormcloak camp? A _legit_ Stormcloak camp?"

"Heck if I know," Josh shrugged, "but we ain't in Kansas anymore, Toto."

The leader of the small entourage seemed to have been informed of their presence and began to walk towards them. Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak himself walked casually towards them, a soldier at his side. The leader of the rebellion who shouted the high king to death during a duel, an unfair duel considering that Torygg the high king at the time was young whereas Ulfric was a seasoned veteran. A war veteran who had trained in the ways of the Thu'um, the Voice. The exact events were difficult to figure out, especially since there were multiple sides. If one asked Ulfric, he'd say the king accepted the challenge and with the Torygg dead at his hands, it meant Ulfric was king.

The appearance of Ulfric was enough to confirm their suspicions. They could have convinced themselves that they simply stumbled across a group of serious roleplayers, but Ulfric Stomcloak was an entirely different matter. The man could be identified in an instant regardless of whether this was in the game or not. With his regal posture and deep voice that rumbled ever so slightly with the Thu'um, Ulfric Stormcloak was undeniably real.

"Greetings kinsman," Ulfric said, "I understand you lost your way?"

Josh looked like he was trying to fight the urge to be sarcastic, so Jess stepped in, "We just need to go to the nearest town. We were hiking along a trail and apparently went farther than we originally thought."

"I see," Ulfric said eyeing the both of them, "The nearest city is Riften, though we are a week's away from arriving there. I am willing to take the both of you there if you do not mind joining us."

"Thank you, Jarl Ulfric," Jess said, "We really appreciate it."

"No need to thank me lass," Ulfric said waving his hand, "Is it not the duty of the High King to help out his fellow kinsmen in need?"

"cept that's all you care about," Josh muttered, though Ulfric didn't seem to hear him.

Ulfric welcomed them warmly, and offered them a spare tent and bedroll which the couple had no issue sharing. The soldiers were amiable enough, and were more than willing to share their food. They also offered them some armour, which they turned down, claiming they could get by on their own (spoiler alert! They can't). When asked where their loyalties lay, they told him they didn't care much for politics.

"So tell me," Ulfric said as he sat down with them to eat, "Where are you two from?"

"We're visiting from Hammerfell," Jess said. "Our friend wanted us to take over his business in Whiterun and invited us over to check it out."

"And I don't suppose you are aware of the situation in Skyrim?" Ulfric asked.

"We have," Josh said, "but we don't think it's our fight. Hammerfell isn't going to change if Skyrim loses its independence."

Ulfric nodded understandingly, but said, "I will do my best to convince you of our noble cause. Skyrim deserves her freedom from the Empire."

At night time, they were finally able to assess their situation. The game was dangerous, and they didn't doubt that here, in actual life, Skyrim was even more dangerous. Death here would be permanent. Ulfric seemed to be on his way to Cyrodill to negotiate with the emperor, which meant this was before the game. This meant that they had no way of knowing who was Dragonborn, assuming they were Dragonborn.

They decided to follow the storyline, in hopes that they will be able to figure out how they ended up on Skyrim. The Greybeards might know, or perhaps Paarthunax, but the Greybeards wouldn't allow them to speak to Paarthunax just like that. They doubted even Ulfric knew about the dragon at the Throat of the World. Should they be separated, they promised to head to Riverwood. With any luck, they'd get there in one piece. If they were really lucky, they'd survive the entire storyline.

"We are so fucked."

"Agreed."


	2. Moving to AO3

Hey guys,

So the reasons I haven't been updating as much as I said I would, have to do with the fact that I'm rewriting a lot of my old stories. I'm not going to be active, if at all on this site and instead I am going to move to Archive Of Our Own. There I will post a rewritten version of The Afterlife is Fucked Up, probably How to survive a TV show for Dummies, but I'm sure about that one right now.

My writing has improved these past few months, and I want to redo my previous works to reflect this. So I won't be posting at all here. AO3 provides me with much more freedom, I feel, when it comes to my writing and how I format it so you can find me there under the same username as on here. Consider the stories on here Discontinued.

I'm sorry if this poses a problem, but this is my choice.


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